Maritime Traffic & Navigation Group

The European Commission is to take UK to the Court of Justice for failing to incorporate European legislation on enhancing port security into national law within a set time limit.

It seems that it is only in Gibraltar that the Directive has been transposed into national law.  In the rest of UK the definitive transposition measures are in preparation - but have not yet been finally adopted.

The aim of the Directive is to establish an EC framework for the security of all port areas, complementing instruments in force since 2004 which apply only to ships and port terminals.  It sets out common basic rules for measures to prevent deliberate illegal acts against ports and various parts of them - defining mechanisms for implementation and checking conformity.

The Directive - which should have been transposed by 15 June 2007 - is 2005/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on enhancing port security, Official Journal L 310 of 25.11.2005.

Only one other state has failed to implement the Directive - Estonia.

Details from the EU